Get Up To Speed On ‘Speed’: 20 Fun Movie Facts On The Film’s 20th Anniversary

Okay, so there’s this bus. If the bus goes over 50 mph, a bomb arms, but the bomb only goes off if the bus slows down below 50 mph. Oh, and Sandra Bullock is driving the bus without a driver’s license and Keanu Reeves is a cop who is flirting with her while he’s trying to save the day.

Speed might sound inordinately stupid if you’re trying to explain it to someone who hasn’t seen it, but it’s actually one of the best action movies of the last two decades. This week marks the 20th anniversary of its cinematic release and we’ve got a fun fact about Speed for every year it’s been on the big screen.

1) Speed was the brainchild of Canadian writer Graham Yost, who is now best known as the creator of Justified, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

2) Even though Yost came up with the concept and wrote the original script, the screenplay went through a massive rewrite with the help of a young writer named Joss Whedon. Yost credits Whedon with crafting most of the dialogue. Today, Whedon is famous for his television work and for writing and directing The Avengers. You can stream The Avengers on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

3) Speed wasn’t Sandra Bullock’s first movie, but it did put her on the map. Before Speed, she was best known for starring in the sci-fi film, Demolition Man. Demolition Man is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime & Google Play and for purchase on iTunes

4) Speed might seem like pulpy fun, but it was honored with two Academy Awards (Best Sound & Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing). The last film to win those two awards was Gravity, another hit movie starring Sandra Bullock. Gravity is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime & Google Play and for purchase on iTunes

5) Jan De Bont’s first controversial choice as Speed‘s director was to make star Keanu Reeves get a buzz cut. He wanted Reeves’ character to have a realistic haircut for a cop. Now, that may not sound like a big deal, but it was a huge deal for execs at Fox. At that time, Reeves was as much known for his trademark floppy hair as he was for his cool dude vibe. Fox executives reportedly halted production so that Reeves’ hair could grow out. Come on guys, it’s not like pulled a Felicity. Speaking of which, Felicity is currently streaming on Hulu Plus.

6) Quentin Tarantino was offered the job of directing Speed, but turned it down. Instead, he made a little film called Pulp Fiction, which is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. If for some dumb reason, you’d rather watch Pulp Fiction than Speed, it’s currently streaming onNetflix and Amazon Prime.

7) The elevator scene in the beginning of the film was inspired by Jan De Bont’s real life experience on the set of Die Hard. He apparently got stuck on the 40th floor of the building that they were shooting the movie in and someone had to save him. So, naturally, he re-envisioned the experience as a terrorist attack. Die Hard is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime &Google Play and for purchase on iTunes.

8) Speed was originally written for Jeff Bridges and Ellen DeGeneres. You can watch clips from DeGeneres’s current show, The Ellen Show on Hulu Plus. Jeff Bridges does not have a talk show.

10) Who’s Kay Lenz? She was a voice actress on the animated series The Tick, which was later turned into a live action sitcom which is streaming on Netflix and Hulu Plus. And yes, she reportedly turned down the role of Annie. We don’t know why either.

11) George Clooney, Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Keaton, Tom Cruise, Jeff Bridges, and Tom Hanks. turned down the role of Jack. Tom Cruise turned down the chance to play Jack Traven in Speed, but he accepted the title role of Jack Reacher in 2012. Jack Reacher is streaming on Netflix.

12) Ed Harris was originally going to play the Jeff Bridges role and there was going to be a twist that he was the bomber. However, producers felt that audiences were too dumb to handle such a shocker. If you’re bummed you didn’t get to see Ed Harris in Speed, check him out in Glengarry Glen Ross, now streaming on Netflix.

13) Alan Ruck’s character was supposed to die, but he didn’t. It’s a good thing, too, because no one wants to see Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off bite it. Speaking of which, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

14) Sandra Bullock agreed to star in the sequel so she could get financial backing for the movie,Hope Floats, which is coincidentally one of my favorite movies starring Harry Connick, Jr. in a cowboy hat. You can digitally rent Hope Floats on Amazon Prime & Google Play and it can be purchased on iTunes.

15) Keanu Reeves didn’t return for the sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, but Reeves and Bullock did co-star in The Lake House. The Lake House is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime & Google Play and for purchase on iTunes.

16) The reason Keanu Reeves declined to star in the Speed sequel because he was not “ready to mentally and physically” take on the role. He starred opposite Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate instead. The Devil’s Advocate is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime &Google Play and for purchase on iTunes.

Speed

17) So why does Speed 2 take place on a slow-moving boat? According to Wikipedia, which you know is always true, “Hundreds of ideas for a sequel were submitted to [director Jan] de Bont, all of which he turned down in favor of his own idea, based on a recurring nightmare he experienced about a cruise ship crashing into an island.” My recurring nightmare is being cryogenically frozen and then being smashed to pieces like in an episode of The X-Files I saw as a kid. The X-Files is streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

18) One of Graham Yost’s pitches for the sequel was that there is a “plane that has to fly through the Andes mountains, but cannot ascend above 10,000 feet.” Instead of writing the sequel, Yost wrote the film Broken Arrow, which is available to rent on Amazon Prime & Google Play and can be purchased on iTunes.

19) Sure, Keanu Reeves didn’t return for Speed 2: Cruise Control, but Joe Morton did reprise his role as Lt. McMahon. Morton is best-known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

20) Speed turned 20 this week and it’s a really great film. You should watch it immediately. Speed is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime & Google Play and for purchase on iTunes.